Born in Lalgudi in Trichy in 1930 and trained by his father, the late V R Gopala Iyer, Jayaraman's quick grasp and artistry made him a sought-after accompanist to maestros such as Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, G N Balasubramaniam, Madurai Mani Iyer, K V Narayanaswamy, Maharajapuram Santhanam and D K Jayaraman. In this file photo, Lalgudi with country's first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. (TOI Photo)